


Into the Wasteland

by WeenyDrake



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 1
Genre: Shady Sands, Vault 13
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 09:30:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17485613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeenyDrake/pseuds/WeenyDrake
Summary: This is just a fic I really wanted to write after starting Fallout 1 for the first time. I'll update as I play more of the game and feel inspired to write more of the journey.





	Into the Wasteland

“Ah, you’re here,” the Overseer said as I stepped into his office. “Good.” The sturdy doors of our vault slid shut behind me and closed us in his office together. I didn’t say a word. Having been brought there by the vault security officers, I assumed that I was in trouble.  


“We’ve got a problem,” he continued, “A big one.” He turned to face the window overlooking the common room from two stories above for a moment before turning back to face me. As he spoke, I mused about the way his prominent brow and thick hair made him resemble a caveman. “The controller chip for our water purifier has given up on us.” At this, my eyebrows shot up in surprise. “We estimate we have enough drinking water left for about four to five months,” he said. He sat at his desk and shook his head. “Frankly, I think you’re the only hope we have.” He took a breath, and before I could even gather my thoughts, continued on, “You need to get another controller chip. We’ve marked your map with the location of the nearest vault. This would be a good place to start. We’ll give you some supplies and commission you a weapon to protect yourself, but we need that chip.”  


We sat in silence for a moment, and he looked at me pleadingly. I had a million questions, but I only asked one, “When can I leave?” I could feel my heart pounding in excitement and anticipation already. I tried to imagine what it would look like outside. I’d be the first one to see it in the 80 years since the bombs dropped and my great-great grandparents had been sealed in this vault.  
“Tomorrow morning I’ll send vault security to escort you out,” he said. With that, the discussion was over. I returned to the women’s quarters where a few of my roommates were chatting. I flopped down on my bed and turned on my Pip-Boy. The screen flickered to life and opening up the map, I marveled at how far I’d have to travel. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine what the world outside the vault must look like. What would nuclear winter look like? I imagined that the world had already begun to retake the landscape. Plants were coming back, and strange animals roamed the hills dotted with short, young trees.  


“So,” a quiet, clear voice pulled my attention back to reality, “What was the meeting with the Overseer about?”  
I looked up to see Maria’s thin figure standing beside my bunk and smiled. I stood up and wrapped her tightly in my arms; she gave me a gentle squeeze in return. I motioned for her to follow me out of the living quarters and into the wide, labyrinthian halls of the vault. She didn’t ask any questions as we strolled to our hiding spot in the lower levels. I made a quick sweep of the storage room before we wedged ourselves between the stacks of storage containers and the oppressive metal walls.  


“You’re not going to believe it,” I whispered to her. I quietly and quickly recounted the conversation I had had with the Overseer to her.  


“Oh,” she said, “You’re leaving. Tomorrow?” Her eyes began to water.  


“Y-es…I’ll be back within a few months though.”  


“A few _months_?” Her voice cracked.  


“Maria…” I began an unplanned sentence meant to comfort her and reached for her hands. She quickly pulled away and clambered over the crates. I called to her again, but my only response was the sound of the vault doors sliding shut decisively behind her.

I slept poorly that night. My excitement that night was dampened by Maria’s admittedly understandable malcontent. My spirits could only be salvaged by thoughts of the good I’d be doing for the entire vault populace and the adventure I was about to embark upon. I tossed and turned until I could stand it no longer. For a moment, I sat up and just listened to the sound of my bunkmates breathing. Outside the vault, I imagined I’d be alone. This sound would fade into memory — its details forgotten. I got out of my bunk and put on my vault suit. I pulled the jumpsuit on one leg at a time and zipped it up to my collarbones. I quickly and loosely tied up my boots and snuck out into the halls as quietly as I could. It didn’t take long before a pair of footsteps echoed down the hallway and alerted me to another presence. I ducked into the bathrooms and decided to wait it out. Security was making the rounds to enforce curfew, and getting caught now seemed like a bad idea to me. The footsteps stopped just outside the bathroom door, and I held my breath.  


“Did you hear?” Paulo’s voice was loud even as a whisper. “They’re sending Nadia out.”  


“Yeah,” came Danny’s reply, “Morning’s the last we’ll see of her. Shame. She’s a damn good lockpicker.”  


“That prick of an Overseer is trying to cut our numbers. Takin’ them just for being seen with us,” Paulo sneered.  


I exhaled at the sound of Paulo and Danny’s voices, and after hearing the last remark, I push down on the flusher to alert them. After a moment, I stepped outside to see them leaning against the wall stiffly with eyes wide. Upon recognizing me, they relaxed, and through a heavy sigh, Danny smiled.  


“Heard about your upcoming deployment,” Paulo said. “We’re really gonna miss you in the Switches.”  


“Doubling down on the name, huh?” I asked. “Connotations are going to get you, my friend.”  


“I explained this to you already.” Paulo was exasperated. “’Switches’ as in switchblades.”  


“Yeah, yeah,” I said as I walked past them. “Goodnight, Danny, and good luck on your G.O.A.T. tomorrow. I promise it isn’t as scary as it sounds.”  


“Thanks,” Danny called back to me as the distance between us lengthened. “Good luck to you too!”  


As I was making my way to the staircase, I was stopped by the night watchman. He spotted me when I turned a corner without checking first and nearly ran into him. I sighed heavily knowing that I was about to be reprimanded and braced myself for the impending lecture.  


“Nadia?” Officer McCormick looked at me as if he hadn’t expected me to break curfew. I almost felt bad for disappointing him. He had been kind to me in the past and had let many of my other offenses slide. “You shouldn’t be out this late when you have such a big day tomorrow. This could be the last good night’s sleep you get in a long while.”  


“That’s exactly why I couldn’t sleep,” I said dismissively.  


“Listen,” he sighed, “I’m going to pretend I didn’t see you this time, but you should really try to rest up tonight.” I gave him a nod in understanding and thanked him before silently descending the steps to the lower levels for the second time that night and opened the doors to the storage room. As I was climbing over the boxes to my hiding place, I heard sniffling coming from the corner. I peered over the boxes and saw Maria once again. She stared up at me with a tear-stained face.  


“What are _you_ doing here?” she spat and looked away from me.  


“I couldn’t sleep,” I responded. “May I?”  


She said nothing but shrugged in allowance. I carefully stepped into the small nook and wedged myself across from her. We sat in silence for a moment as I racked my brain for something to say that would comfort her. We had been together for a few months now, and I certainly had an obligation to her. For that, I felt guilty, but in my heart, I knew I had to head out and see the world and save the vault. The decision had required no deliberation, and she knew that.  


“You’re going to die out there,” she said after taking a few deep breaths.  


“I’m surprised you have so little faith in me,” I said. Her words echoed in my head.  


“It’s not _you_ ; it’s the wastes,” she said. “Only scouts ever leave. They’re skilled and trained, but even they lose people. Some of them haven’t been back in a long time. People are starting to get worried, and now the Overseer is sending you.”  


“I’m training to be a scout, Maria,” I said. “I know how to handle myself.”  


“ _Training_. This would be your first expedition, and you’re going alone,” she said. “No one goes alone the first time. It would be stupid.”  


“I’m ready for this. I’ve been ready for this for a long time.”  
Maria rolled her eyes. “This is a suicide mission. I don’t know what the Overseer is thinking.”  


“It’s not a suicide mission. He chose me because I can do this.”  


After this, she was silent for a moment, and I grew hopeful that she might concede, admit that I was capable, that she was proud of me. Instead, she avoided my gaze for what felt like several moments before taking a deep breath. Finally, she broke the silence.  


“I can’t do this with you anymore,” she began. “If life with you is going to be worrying about whether or not you come home, then I’d rather not do this at all.”  


“Are you serious?” My head felt as if it were spinning. “You’ve known all along that this is what I wanted to do.”  


“I didn’t realize it would be this hard,” she said. The conversation ended there as I climbed over storage boxes for the fourth and final time that day.


End file.
